City of Markham still wants to demolish backyard rink despite public outcry
Gross misconduct! Despite massive public backlash, the City of Markham STILL wants to demolish a backyard rink! And now city officials are even refusing to talk about their offside conduct!
You may recall our recent reports regarding Markham, Ont. resident Martin Ross.
For what appears to be purely vindictive reasons, the City of Markham is not happy that Ross built a hockey rink in the backyard of his heritage home. The rink does not alter the heritage home one iota (which is a no-no.) The rink can’t even be seen from the sidewalk.
But the city has been relentless on this file. The rink must go – or the municipality will remove it for an extraordinary fee. The City originally said the demolition would cost a mind-boggling $500,000; that sum has since been lowered to $352,000.
Of note, Martin reached out to a demolition company to get a quote to take down the rink just in case he loses his battle with City Hall. He was told the job can be done for $59,000. So why does the City estimate it will cost almost $300,000 more than that? Oh, yeah: we’re dealing with government here…
And alas, as they say in the sports world, “the clock is becoming a factor.” Which is to say that Martin has been given a deadline of Nov. 18 (next Monday) to sink his rink.
Meanwhile, we are still trying to get the City’s side of the story. But it’s radio silence. Graham Seaman, the city bureaucrat responsible for issuing numerous legal threat letters to Martin, has ignored repeated calls for comment. By the way, last year the hardworking Seaman earned more than $192,000 and claimed almost $10,000 in benefits. Your tax dollars hard at work yet again…
The local councillor, Reid McAlpine, and Markham Mayor Frank Scarpetti, also refuse to comment.
A few weeks ago, Rebel News paid a house call to Markham City Hall. During a break in the council meeting, we asked Councillor Reid and Mayor Scarpitti point-blank to justify their actions regarding Ross’s rink. The end-result? Security frog-marched Rebel News out of council chambers. Alas, not only are these politicians vindictive, but they are shamefully non-transparent.
Oh, and “Rink-Gate” if we can call it that, has apparently created a new City of Markham policy. We were told by a receptionist that staffers are no longer available via phone. All communication must be done via email. Those emails almost always get ignored. Customer. Service. Excellence.
And this just in: Martin says the loudest complainers are his next-door neighbours, the Gagnons. And lo’ and behold, not only do they vote for Councillor McAlpine but they are financial donors to him as well!
Maybe this explains why McAlpine is carrying out this jihad. Maybe this explains why the Gagnons received permission to put an extension on their heritage home and built an enormous guesthouse in their backyard. In Markham, money talks and B.S. skates…
While things look grim, this dispute is heading to overtime. On Friday, Martin and his lawyer will be in court seeking an injunction. We wish him all the best.
David Menzies
Mission Specialist
David “The Menzoid” Menzies is the Rebel News "Mission Specialist." The Menzoid is equal parts outrageous and irreverent as he dares to ask the type of questions those in the Media Party would rather not ponder.
COMMENTS
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Bruce Atchison commented 2024-11-14 23:27:14 -0500This is why local politics is so important. These petty bureaucrats rise up through the local structure to move into provincial and federal politics. Officious bureaucrats need to be fired for abusing their power. No sane person loves power-tripping bureaucrats at ANY level.
